An Afternoon in the Ashenwood
by MorwennaTheWicked
Summary: Post MotB, the KC and Gann take a break before returning to the Sword Coast and get to know one another better. Rated M for slash.


This is a one-shot featuring our favorite Spirit Shaman. Warning, this contains slash.

Erevan took a drink from his wineskin and passed it over to Gann, taking a well-earned day of rest in the Ashenwood before heading back to the Sword Coast. "How many women have you had, Gannyev-of-Dreams? I'm not talking about those farm girls whose dreams you invade. I mean real flesh-and-blood women." The day was warm, and the two men had stripped to the waist as they soaked up the early autumn sun. Erevan lay back in the grass with his arms folded behind his head watching the handsome hagspawn who sat cross-legged watching a herd of telethor deer.

Gann turned and regarded him with a sardonic smile. "Is this a challenge, my dear Erevan? Is one who has bedded the most women going to be proclaimed the alpha male of what's left of our pack? And do tell, is there a prize? Does the winner gain unrestricted access to the females of our pack?"

Erevan chuckled as he lay there watching the clouds pass. He pointed and exclaimed, "Look at that one, Gann—it looks like a wyvern!" He took another drink of the spicy Rashemi wine then said, "To be honest, my dear Gann, I don't want access to either of our females so they're all yours. I voiced a strong suspicion I've had that Safiya was only attracted to me because part of her soul recognized the part of Akachi in me, and she has agreed. Now that I'm free from Akachi's curse, I don't doubt that she'll lose interest and return to her academy. Besides, it would never work out. Wizards are such snobs about sorcerers. They're jealous because we can access the Weave without devoting years of our lives in anguished study. They secretly think we're lazy."

Gann lay back in the grass, copying Erevan's pose. He turned his head to face the Eldrich Knight. "Especially one such as you who also has the skills and training of a warrior. They think at best you're a dilettante, and at worst, you're greedy and want it all." He smiled and asked, "So...what do you think of our little dove?"

Erevan turned on his side and snorted. "She is quite beautiful, but there's something rather...asexual about her, wouldn't you agree? In addition, she has an innocence that borders on retardation. And besides, though I agreed to help her with her quest, she's a bit too much of a fanatic for my liking. Now don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't answered my question." He smirked at the hagspawn then lay back in the grass.

"You're going to burn that alabaster skin of yours if we're out here much longer." Gann reached into his pack for a small soapstone jar stoppered with cork. "Here, put some of this on so I don't have to listen to your moans later." He tossed the jar over to Erevan, who reached up and caught it in one hand then sat up and poured some of its contents out in his palm and sniffed it before he began applying it to his arms, then his face and neck.

"Very well then, I'll go first. I've had at least a hundred, perhaps more." Gann snorted skeptically. "It's true. I was a bit of a slut in Neverwinter. What do you expect of someone named after the Elven god of mischief? My former companion, the brick in Kelemvor's wall you met, used to go drinking and whoring with me. And I started rather young. I was in demand because I was exotic, even in Neverwinter, much less in a small backward village like West Harbor." He poured more of the ointment into his palm and massaged it across his smooth hairless muscled chest and abdomen.

Gann lay back on his side watching for a few moments, a frown flitting across his handsome face. He turned away and lay back in the grass. "I admit I haven't had so many flesh-and-blood women. I prefer my dream lovers. Perhaps it's some sort of cellular memory inherited from my father and I'm afraid of being eaten."

Erevan chuckled lewdly. "But my dear Gann, that can be the best part. Here, make yourself useful and put some of this on my back." He stoppered the jar and tossed it back to Gann then turned over and stretched out, moving his long white hair out of the way. "Then I'll take care of you. I can't imagine your bluish skin looks attractive with a sunburn."

Gann hesitated for a moment, then got up and knelt beside him. He again hesitated before he poured a modest amount onto his back and began rubbing it in. "Some consider it a form of mind rape, my dream walking, but in my defense I only answer the call of nubile farmers' daughters who are seeking a dream lover to help them escape the monotony of their lives. Some, I suspect, aren't nearly as beautiful in reality as they appear to be in their dreams." He worked his way down Erevan's back in silence for a few minutes then added, "It's much safer as I don't have to worry about the consequences in nine months' time. In truth, my friend, I can be anyone I want while I walk in their dreams—handsomer, more charming, witty, and what's more, I've never had one of them reject me." He finished and moved aside and resumed his cross-legged pose an arm's length away.

Erevan sat up and wrinkled his nose. "Rejection isn't so bad, Gannyev—I've experienced it many times. I'm guessing that means not many physical lovers then? It's a pity that such beauty goes to waste. Now it's your turn. Lie down here and I'll tell you about my first of many."

Gann smiled nervously but did so. Erevan knelt beside him and poured a bit of the ointment onto his shoulders and worked it in, kneading the tight muscles. "My first was a bored farmer's wife. Beautiful and a newlywed, but her oafish husband didn't know what to do with her. I was only just sixteen, and one day she asked my foster father if I could help her with some odd jobs around the house. The next day I when I arrived she wanted me to move a wardrobe in her bedroom. She was only wearing a short chemise and stood on a chair to reach something on top, and the way she looked down at me as I looked up her legs and beyond—well, I swallowed and responded as any healthy boy would. We carried on in secret for several months. My foster father was happy enough that I had occupation and wasn't lying around idle that he didn't question my thrice weekly visits. He never cared much what I did anyway as long as I kept out of his way, and I suppose I should be thankful. Otherwise I'd have ended up a paladin as so many of my kind do." He made a face of disgust. "She also spread the word to a few friends, so soon I was working for several matrons in the afternoon, and meeting their daughters at night."

Gann squirmed as Erevan worked his knuckles in lower down his back. "I see where this is going—angry farmer with a pitchfork chasing you naked through the village? It sounds like a three copper drama I saw last season at the Veil."

Erevan chuckled lightly. "It does sound rather like a cheap melodrama, but I assure you, my friend, it's true. One day I left Isolt's house, and I had just turned the corner of their barn, still pulling my shirt over my head, when indeed I was confronted by her husband with a crossbow, not a pitchfork, and he ordered me into the barn. I tell you, my life flashed before me at that moment, but then I thought, 'Fair enough, I've lived more than most of my friends.' Gods, your back is so tight, Gann. Relax, would you?" He moved up and started on Gann's left shoulder and bicep and worked his way down his arm.

Gann grunted. "You're very good. Where did you learn massage?"

Erevan paused for a moment. "From Elanee, a druid who traveled with me. Pretty, but when I found out she had been watching me all my life...well, put off is too mild a way to describe it. Needless to say, I spurned her advances as diplomatically as I could. She was almost as scary as Qara—a hot-tempered little sorceress who traveled with us too, the kind that would throw a fireball at you to settle an argument." He shuddered and sat back.

Gann sat up and took the ointment back and applied it liberally to his chest. "Have you ever traveled with a woman that you could turn your back on?"

Erevan smiled and lay back. "Yes and no. There was Neeshka. She was a sweet little tiefling with a tight little ass, the cutest little horns, and let me tell you, the things she could do with her tail...We made each other's skin tingle in the most delightful way." He closed his eyes and savored the memory. "We had some pleasant trysts when I could escape the clutches of the harpy who served as my lieutenant. I can't seem to forget her smile, her voice. I can't wait for you to meet her when we return, and after that we shall travel to the City of Splendors and beyond. I'm sure she'll grow as fond of you as I have. Just mind your coin pouch around her."

Gann leaned back on one elbow. "Neeshka. She sounds enchanting. But my fair Erevan, must learn to finish your stories. How did you escape from the wrath of the cuckold?"

"Oh yes, where was I? Some bard I would make," he said with a chuckle as he turned on his left elbow to face Gann. "There I was, forced into the barn, and as I looked around, I saw a block and tackle used to move large bales of hay, and I shuddered as he forced me towards the hook hanging from it. Most farm tools make excellent weapons and instruments of torture. He told me to strip, and I was in no position to argue. He stared at me with a strange expression on his face, and as I tried to make sense of it, I realized that he couldn't very well kill me, not in a village that size, and if he had wanted to hurt me, he would have done so already. Nevertheless I stood trembling there for what seemed like an hour as he walked around me before he finally snarled, "I can see what she sees in you, boy. You're pretty enough to be a lass. Now turn around!"

Gann gasped, "He didn't! As he sat up, alarmed for his friend, he said softly, "You don't have to go on. You're talking about rape worse than any I've been accused of."

Erevan's unnerving orange-colored eyes darkened to amber and he looked away but then shrugged and turned back to Gann. "No my friend, what Safiya's mother, grandmother or whatever they are did to me was rape. I suppose this could have been as well. That was certainly his intention. He shoved me roughly over a barrel. I caught myself and looked at him over my shoulder, saw him opening the laces on his trewes, and I knew what was coming, but strangely enough I realized at that moment that I had it coming, and sweet Sune, I told him as much. For some reason that gave him pause, and then he grabbed me by my hair and whispered hoarsely in my ear, "Yes, you do."

The hagspawn put a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "You don't have to get into the graphic details, unless it unburdens your mind to do so."

Erevan chuckled. "All right, I won't get too graphic, my friend. Where was I? There was something about the way his hot breath felt on my neck as his calloused hand slid over my hip, and I couldn't help myself—I moaned. He stopped and looked me in the eyes then pulled me into a rough kiss, and I found myself returning it, savoring the feel of his stubbled face moving across my cheek and shivering as his hands slid over my body, and as he murmured about how perfectly hairless my body was. It was little wonder that he hadn't been able to satisfy his wife. His heart simply wasn't in it. I found myself becoming quite aroused as well. Once he finished, he lay me back in the hay and whispered, 'I'm going to make you feel real good,' and then he did. Eventually I arranged it so that he came home from the fields early to catch me with his wife, and let's just say a good time was had by all."

He watched the hagspawn for a reaction as he reached out and pushed his hair back from his face. "Such wondrous full lips you have. There's no good reason to hide such a face behind your hair, Gannyev-of-Dreams."

Gann looked as if he struggled with conflicting emotions, but he didn't pull away, and his hand was still on Erevan's shoulder. He finally said, "Is that why neither of the women appeals to you?"

Erevan laughed softly and replied, "No my dear, I already told you why neither of them appeals to me. I do prefer the company of women, but on occasion I've learned that I also enjoy the strong caress and the musky scent of a man. It doesn't make me any less of a man." He leaned in and kissed those full blue lips softly and smiled that he didn't pull away. "If you would prefer, I'll meet you in a dream tonight and we can visit some farmer's daughter then afterwards spend the night together, but I'd much rather enjoy you now in the flesh."

Gann smiled shyly. "I would like that. But won't it be awkward when we return to your homeland and you reunite with your Neeshka?"

He reached down and began unlacing his trewes and smiled to see that the hagspawn was as aroused as he was, and he gave him an affectionate squeeze that made Gann shudder. He kissed his way down his muscular chest to his belly and paused to look up at him. "Neeshka? I think she'll become as fond of you as I am. We're going to be the best of friends."


End file.
